New Jersey

New Jersey has a long history of actively supporting stem cell research. New Jersey researchers are allowed to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells, but reproductive cloning is banned. In January 2004, New Jersey became the first state in the United States to fund research on [Page 852]embryonic stem cells. Eleven months later, California voters passed Proposition 71, approving a bond issue that devoted $3 billion over a 10-year period to stem cell research. Spurred on by Democratic Governors James McCreevey and Jon Corzine and top stem cell scientists in the state, New Jersey appropriated $15 million for stem cell research grants and passed a law permitting human cloning for research purposes. In 2007, New Jersey also began building a state-supported stem cell institute.

However, ...